Cypriot War of Independence
The Cypriot War of Independence, also called the Cyprus War, was fought between many nations. It began when Cyprus attempted to declare independence from Turkey. Quickly, nations began to take sides and soon much of Europe had sent troops to help one side or another. It ended and turned into an inactive disregarded stalemate after a while of heavy fighting and diplomacy. Timeline Escalation Once Cyprus declared independence and started revolting (mainly the Greeks), the 3rd Turkish Division was sent to Cyprus in response. When the Cypriots continued resisting, the Spanish, an ally of the Turkish, offered help to them to subdue Cyprus. The Belgians, however, thought differently and offered help to Cyprus by sending 60,000 infantrymen along with 3,000 lancers, 1,500 jinetes, 500 batteries of artillery and 1,500 armored cars. The Turkish condemned the Belgian actions at this point. The Spanish, seeing the Belgians, replied with the ir 3rd & 7th Mediterranean infantry, their 9th and 5th Cavalry and their 2nd Native Horse Artillery with a detachment of their Eastern Mediterranean Fleet. The Turkish then sent their 5th Division to Cyprus. Matched Sides At this point, the war was becoming a major point in Europe. The Draconian League backed the Turkish and the League of Superpowers back Cypriot Independence. Things quickly escalated with the British declaring support of the Turkish and sending 60,000 men from the Pembroke and Nottinghamshire divisions with a portion of their Grand Fleet as well as the Austro-Hungarian Empire helping the Turkish with their 1st Fallschirmjäger Division. Belgium also sent 60,000 more men while the Syrians, still quite irked at the Turkish, who were essentially the Ottomans who had held sway over their lands until quite recently, sent men to help the Cypriots in the form of the 5th Elite Syrian Army (4 elite infantry divisons) and 450 batteries on 12 warships. The Cypriots, finding only the Belgians and the Syrians on their side against the might of the British, the Austro-Hungarians and the Turkish, asked for help from the Greeks. They also began work on a large wall across the island to defend against the enemies. The Turkish asked the supporters of Cypriot freedom to withdraw, but were firmly rebuffed. Diplomacy Ending By this time, much of Europe was involved, and Switzerland attempted to mediate a peace offer. It, however, did not work. The Spanish took the initiative by blockading the Strait of Gibraltar while the Italians became involved on Turkey's side with 60,000 men and 10 destroyers. The Turkish planted landmines around Cyprus, and it seemed inevitable that the newly formed Cyprus would be crushed beneat the Italian, British, Spanish, Turkish and Austro-Hungarian armies with such puny allies as Syria and Belgium. The Turkish tried to end the warfare by offering a peace which would grant the Cypriots half of the island. It was refused though, and Nicosia was bombarded by the Turks. The Turkish took a lot of action, as much of their industry was in Cyprus, and tried in vain to stop the international community sending troops. The Belgians sent another 60,000 men by hiring ships in Marseille. The French were leaning towards the Cypriot side, and it looked as if there might have been hope. The Turkish sent yet more troops, this time the 4th Division along with 50 aircraft. The Syrians fortified much of Cyprus, and the Turks changed the peace to one easier for the Cypriots to accept. They did not, however, see their disadvantaged position and continued to resist. The Turks sent a copy of the map of landmines to Spain so that they could land troops. In the meantime, Switzerland offered asylum to Cypriot refugees in recognition of the heavy warfare that would soon take place between the hundreds of thousands of troops in Cyprus. Heavy Warfare The Belgians, Spanish, Turkish and Italians had all already arrived on Cyprus along with a host of other armies and the unarrived ones weren't far behind. The Turkish sent their 1st, 2nd and 5th fleets to stop invaders from reaching Cyprus and also to stop Cypriot communication with the outside world. However, slightly turning the tides, at this point, France obtained a map of the landmines through espionage and sent it to the other Cypriot-freedom supporting nations. The landmines were further tackled by the Danish who joined the Cypriots and sent 10 minesweepers while denying that they would try and land troops. The Turkish tried to gain some more support in the community by allowing civilians to leave Cyprus. The Spanish became more committed after their conquest of Portugal and sent the Portuguese 3rd & 7th Infantry with the 2nd Spanish Armored Car, armored cars becoming a major weapon in warfare. All of the forces that had been sent to Cyprus had reached it by now, and the warfare became slow, heavy and very intense. The Draconians who were generally supporting the Turkish were thrown into chaos by the Cypriots and then attacked by most of the anti-Turkish forces with artillery. The Spanish made a successful counterattack due to their experience and discipline and the Cypriots were driven out of their positions. On the seas, the Spanish also enjoyed success against the Belgian and Syrian navies. After the successful counterattack by the Spanish, the Italians took up the momentum and inflicted further heavy damage on the Cypriot, Belgian and Syrian armies as well as following the Spanish lead on the seas, defeating Syrian ships. The French, however, had sent troops and stopped the string of naval victories, hurting the Italian and Spanish navies as well as on land with a surprise landing that damaged the Italian land forces. The Turkish once again became quite active and conducted an early morning naval attack as well as regrouping on land. Anticlimax After the period of warfare, things began to cool down. The troops, although still too close to each other to avoid action, generally stopped most of the offensive actions. Skirmishes still occurred, although even they were limited. The communist happenings and the expansions of many of the major powers caused much confusion and Cyprus was essentially forgotten. The Turkish continued to gain more land from the Belgian forces as well as the Syrians. Due to the lessened support from their allies and the importance of capturing their Cypriot industries, the Turkish began to send militia to Cyprus as well. The Turks made good headway until they came to Nicosia. They offered to send POWs to Belgium and Syria if they were paid, but also said that they would send them without payment. Belgium, however, took this as ransom and misunderstood that they would not be sent without funds. They officially declared an all-out war on Turkey and rejuvenated their attacks in Cyprus, pushing the Turkish back from Nicosia from their southern flank. They still held onto the northern areas though and the very bloody Battle of Nicosia occured. Meanwhile, the Belgians decided to ignore the misunderstanding's explanation by the Turks and tried to land in southern Anatolia. The war began to turn against the Turks as the Syrians too declared total war and the Algerians were on the edge of sending troops to Cyprus. The Turkish also became embroiled in war with Bulgaria and Greece, so Cyprus became essentially irrelevant on the world stage and the war dwindled into nothingness. However, its legacy, the wars that were being declared on Turkey, continued on, mainly in the form of the L'alliance's animosity towards Turkey as well as the Syrian war.